Trace the origin and development of temple architecture in India with reference to regional styles and variations.

Answer:

The Hindu temple evolved from modest beginnings in the Gupta age into the monumental architecture of the medieval period, differentiating into three great regional styles, the Nagara of the north, the Dravida of the south and the Vesara of the Deccan.

Origins in the Gupta period

• The earliest temples were flat-roofed shrines, such as Temple No. 17 at Sanchi.
• The Dashavatara temple at Deogarh added a shikhara over the sanctum.
• Bhitargaon experimented with brick and a terraced tower.
• The essential elements of garbhagriha, mandapa and pradakshina path were fixed.
• Rock-cut antecedents at Udayagiri and elsewhere preceded structural building.

The Nagara style of the north

• It is marked by a curvilinear shikhara crowned by an amalaka and kalasha.
• The plan is square with graduated projections (rathas) producing a cruciform outline.
• The Odisha school produced the Lingaraja at Bhubaneswar and the Sun Temple at Konark.
• The Khajuraho temples of the Chandellas, notably Kandariya Mahadeva, mark its climax.
• The Solanki school in Gujarat built the Sun Temple at Modhera and the Dilwara Jain temples.

The Dravida style of the south

• It employs a storeyed pyramidal vimana over the sanctum, with an octagonal shikhara.
• Enclosure walls with towering gopura gateways define the complex.
• The Pallavas developed it from rock-cut caves and rathas to the Kailasanatha at Kanchi.
• The Cholas monumentalised it in the Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur.
• The Vijayanagara and Nayaka periods added vast gopurams and pillared halls.

The Vesara and other variations

• The Vesara of the Deccan blends Nagara elevation with Dravida plan.
• Chalukyan experiments at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal produced the earliest examples.
• The Hoysala temples at Belur, Halebid and Somnathpur are star-shaped and profusely carved.
• Kerala evolved distinctive circular and sloping-roofed shrines for its heavy rainfall.
• Bengal developed brick temples with curved cornices derived from thatched huts.

Shared conception and symbolism

• The garbhagriha represents the womb-chamber housing the deity.
• The shikhara or vimana symbolises the cosmic mountain.
• Vastushastra texts such as the Mayamata and Manasara codified the rules.
• Sculpture, iconography and ritual were integrated with the architecture.
• The temple was also an economic institution, holding land and employing many.

Indian temple architecture thus grew from a single Gupta prototype into three richly differentiated regional traditions. As Percy Brown showed, the divergence reflected local materials, climate and dynastic patronage, yet all shared a common conception of the temple as the deity's residence and the cosmos in miniature.